Vol. XXV, pp. 191-192 December 24, 1912 



PROCEEDINGS 



OK THK 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



PHYSIGNATHUS COCINCINUS AND ITS SUBSPECIES. 

 BY THOMAS BARBOUR. 



The Museum of Comparative Zoology has received recently 

 from Koyobashi, the well-known Japanese collector, a lizard 

 which is very interesting. A study of this specimen in connec- 

 tion with the relevant literature leads to the following con- 

 clusions. 



Physignuthus cocincinus was briefly described by Cuvier in the 

 Regne Animal, Edition 2, Vol. 2, 1829, p. 41. It is the type 

 species of the genus. The name was emended by Guerin (Icon. 

 \l. A. Rept., 1S29-44, pi. ix, fig. 2) to cochinchinensis and 

 Boulenger and Giinther have followed him in this. Boulenger 

 (Cat. Liz. Brit. Mus., I, 1885, p. 399) quotes Cuvier's specific 

 name as concinnus, which is incorrect. In this he followed 

 Gray, who in speaking of the lizard as Lophura concinna made 

 the same error. Neither apparently realized that Cuvier was 

 trying to latinize the words Cochin China. The original spell- 

 ing has to be retained by the laws of modern nomenclature. 



In 1861 Giinther (Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., p. 188) described 

 P. mentager from Siam and three years later figured it in his 

 Reptiles of British India (1864, p. 153, pi. xv). 



The example which the Museum has recently acquired is from 

 Laokay, Tonkin. It evidently represents an undescribed geo- 

 graphical race rather intermediate in characters between those 

 previously characterized. The races may be diagnosed as 

 follows: 



P. cocincinus cocincinus Cuvier. 



From Cochin China, probably from the southern region about Saigon. 

 This section of the country was that l»-st known in Cuvier's time. 



37— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XXV.1912. (191) 



